


Princess's Toy Shop

by Kaleidoscope13579



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkward Crush, Dmmd Big Bang Event, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-07 22:17:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11068224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaleidoscope13579/pseuds/Kaleidoscope13579
Summary: "Mizuki thought it was weird to find this kind of shop around here."Mizuki discovers an ordinary toy shop and wonders about what kind of person would own this retro store in Midorijima. He wanders inside, not expecting the kind of person he meets behind the counter.





	Princess's Toy Shop

**Author's Note:**

> WRITTEN FOR DMMDBIGBANG!!! WHICH I AM SUPER LATE TO!!!! AHHHHHHH!!! Originally I was going to stop it here for the dmmd bigbang but I gain some more ideas as I was writing and it was turning out longer than I would have suspected and there was no way in hell I was gong to get it all done in time for the big bang. So, I decided to stop it here for the big bang BUT I AM SO CONTINUING ON!!!! Think of this for now as a one-shot for the bang, but will later turn into a little mini series.

Mizuki thought it was weird to find this kind of shop around here.

The east side of the Old Resident District was full of unique and retro stores. However, this particular shop stood out the most for Mizuki.

There was a big wooden sign in large letters that said _Princess’s Toy Shop_. Next to it displayed an 8-bit styled blond princess in a pink dress. The rest of the storefront mirrored the wooden theme. Additionally, there were huge windows with various displays of toys along the sill. From looking through the windows, one can see that the interior matched the exterior design of the store.

Inside had laminated hardwood floors and walls. There were dozens of shelves with stuffed toys arranged perfectly in a line. And in the far back corner of store, there was a square countertop that had the cash register, a bell, a sewing kit, and pieces of toy parts scattered around.

To sum it up, it was a pretty old looking store.

Mizuki would occasionally walk by this place during his route to Dry Juice’s base. Sometimes he would get curious and try to peek inside before moving along. He wasn’t really into retro or antique things nor was he into toys. But the uniqueness of this store really captured his interest.

It’s not every day one finds this kind of store in the Old Resident District. The West district was just a residential area and the North district was off-limits. The South district was an entertainment center for young teens, so this kind of old-fashioned store wouldn’t do well with them. It would make sense for it to be in the East district, but Mizuki rarely saw the store packed with any customers.  

It was sometimes vacant and empty. Now that he really thought about it, Mizuki has never seen any person running the cash register or even the store manager. He was curious to see what kind of person runs this kind of shop and what are their reasons for it.

Thankfully, his wish was granted.

One day, as Mizuki was casually walking through the streets, his eyes glanced over to the toy shop.  From there, he saw a glimpse of a person working behind the countertop. His feet stopped and his eyes shifted around. Mizuki tried to get a better view of them, but unfortunately, his view was blocked by shelves so he couldn’t get a chance to see who they were or what they looked like. 

He should have kept walking, but curiosity got the best of him. He wasn’t in a rush to go anywhere, so he could spare a few minutes. With his mind made up, Mizuki stood right in front of the door. He hesitate going through it, but he figured he might as well give it a shot. This may be his only chance to see what kind of person owns this shop.

His hand twisted the golden doorknob and walked inside. He was met with a warm cinnamon smell and a light music box playing. His eyes trailed to the toys and stuffed animals that greeted him with big happy smiles. It was almost like they were welcoming him for coming. The store had such an incredibly peaceful and serene atmosphere that put him at ease. It was like he instantly felt safe here. 

However, there was no time to think about that. His footsteps marched through the aisles until he reached the back of the store. His mind was swarm with all kinds of questions. Were they a man or a woman? Were they old or young? What did they look like? Why work at a toy shop? Do they really like toys? However, all of his questions came to a screeching halt. From there, he was a met with an upsetting letdown. There was no one there at the countertop. All that was there was the usual cash register, bell, sewing kit, and pieces of toy parts along with the music box that was playing and candles giving off the cinnamon smell.

Mizuki was definitely sure that he saw someone at the window. He wasn’t just imagining it. By then, his eyes noticed a door nearby that was opened just a bit. Maybe they were in there.     

In any case, Mizuki didn’t want to stand there and wait for them like a weird person. He decided to look around the store for a bit until they come out. Shoving his hands into his pocket, he walked aimlessly through the aisles. His eyes trailed lazily to each toy, noticing a few details here and there. Each one was crafted uniquely with similar features such as the eyes and how they all smiled.

He wasn’t that much of a toy expect though. That was until he reached the teddy bear section that he noticed something distinctive. There were at least 2 shelves front and back dedicated to stuffed bears. They all looked practically similar to each other minus the accessories. Some of them were pretty cute and funny in his opinion. There was a particular row of teddy bears that was his favorite. It had a total of 4 bears: one had a purple bow tied around its neck with a smoke pipe in its mouth; another had a green bow wrapped in bandages; one had a red bow with a mini sword attached to its back; and the last one has a yellow bow with a clear umbrella in its hand. They reminded him of a certain group of people he knows. The thought made him chuckle.     

When he picked up a teddy bear, he noticed how soft the fur was when he touched it and how fluffy the body was when he squeezed it. However, there was something peculiar about it. As much as he inspected the bear in every nook and cranny, Mizuki couldn’t find it. There was no price tag on the bear. He scanned around the store to see if there was a price sign somewhere until his eyes stopped.

He saw a person. He saw _the_ person behind the countertop. Mizuki was speechless. Not only did he found the person who could possibly own this shop, but they were beautiful.

They had pale skin almost as white as the long sleeve shirt they were wearing; black silky hair tied a short ponytail with the bangs clipped; and black pearl-like eyes covered by square-rimmed glasses. They were also wearing a brown apron from what Mizuki could see; everything else was covered by the countertop.

They were sitting and sewing a few snitches on a teddy bear with a peaceful smile adorned on their face. They didn’t notice Mizuki was there at all as though they were lost in their own world while faintly humming to the music box’s melody. Elegantly, Mizuki watched as their hands gracefully pinch the needle in the bear and pulled back smoothly and slowly. He watched them as they finished the bear and lifted it up with a gleeful smile on their face.

“Ah, finished.” Mizuki was surprised by how soft and quiet their voice was. They sounded pleased nonetheless which made Mizuki felt really content inside too. Their eyes were sparkling with joy. “I hope she likes you.”

“U-Uh…” The person jumped in surprise and turned towards Mizuki’s direction.

Mizuki felt bad for surprising them, “O-Oh, sorry! Are you okay? I didn’t mean to spook you like that.” He nervously scratched the back of his head.

“A…Ah, no, it’s fine.” The person smiled while putting a hand on their heart, “I’m sorry for not noticing you there. Please, forgive me.”

“No worries.” Mizuki grinned back. 

The person set the bear down and stood up, making their way to the cash register. “Is there anything I can help you with, Sir? Are you looking for something in particular?”     

“U-Uh, no, just looking around!” Mizuki quickly answered. He wasn’t sure how he could respond since he had no reason to buy anything here. But, he didn’t want to be rude and just leave.

The person flashed another friendly smile, “Okay, let me know if you need anything.” With that, they walked back and sat down again in their seat, brushing the newly-made bear from any debris.

Just as Mizuki sighed in relief, the front door swung opened and a pair of yelping voices erupt the peaceful atmosphere.

“Sei-san! Sei-san!”

“Seeeeiii-saaaan!”

Two frantic boys ran up to the countertop, excitedly jumping up and down. Seeing them put a smile on the person’s face as they walked around the countertop and knelt down at eye level to greet them.

“Hello there, Kio-kun and Nao-kun.”

“Sei-san, is it done?! Is Mio’s present done yet?! She’s about to come in any second!” The boy in green said, fidgeting from where he stood. 

“Pleeease tell us it’s dooooone!” Meanwhile, the boy in orange whined.

The person only chuckled, unfazed by their impatience. “Yes, it’s done. Want to see?”

Just as the person stood up, the boy in green – Kio – stopped him. “There’s no time! She’s coming!”     

Right on cue, the door swung opened again to reveal a very disgruntled girl in pink with her cheeks puffed out. “Geez, what’s with you guys?! Leaving me behind like that!”

“Sorry, Mio! We had a surprise for you!” Kio defended.

“Surpriiiiise!!!” Nao shouted as he waved his arms in the air.

“Surprise? What is it?” Mio’s anger from earlier diminished and was replaced with interest as she walked closer to her brothers.

“This is your surprise.” During their little conversation, the person decided to fetch Mio’s gift from off the countertop and knelt down to present it to her. “Ta-da!”

It was the stuffed bear Mizuki saw them finishing a moment ago. Now that he was paying attention to it, he could see that the bear was adorned in the same outfit as the little girl was wearing.

“Your brothers had asked me a week ago to make you this birthday present. I hope you like it, Mio-chan! Happy Birthday!” The person flashed a gentle and sincere smile.

The little girl’s cheeks turned a little pink in response as she turned her gaze away from the person and the bear. Mizuki could understand her reactions though. He too would have acted the same way if he was in her position. She still had made no movement to grab the bear yet.

“I-is that so?” She muttered as she crossed her arms and shuffled her feet. “T-Then, thanks for the present, Sei-san.”

The person chuckled again. “You’re welcome. But it shouldn’t be only me you’re supposed to thank. You should thank your brothers as well.”

“Yeah, Mio! Don’t forget about us!” Nao whined again.

“After all, we were the ones that asked Sei-san to make it!” Kio added.

“Shut up, you two!” Mio shouted at them. Despite her attitude, she stomped her way over to them with a determined gaze. “Thank you guys too.” 

Both of the brothers had wide grinning faces afterwards as though they accomplished a big triumph. Both Mizuki and the person found their sibling interaction kind of adorable.

“Anyways, Mio-chan,” the person spoke up as he placed the bear into Mio’s hands. “Here you go. Take good of your present, okay?”

“Thanks, Sei-san. I will!” Mio declared as she pulled the bear closer to her heart. She still refused to look at the person, feeling a little embarrassed but definitely happy inside.

The person smiled as they patted her small head. “Happy birthday again.”

The next action, however, surprised Mizuki.

The person pulled the bear’s head back, making Mio loosened her hug around it. She looked back at the person with great curiosity. Just as she has her gaze fixated on them, wondering what they were doing, the person grinned as they made the bear leaned towards Mio’s face. They made a tiny kissing sound as they placed the bear’s mouth on Mio’s lips for a quick peck.

Mizuki’s eyes widened a little. Kio and Nao’s jaws instantly dropped. And Mio stood there gawking with her face flushed and her mouth making whimpering sounds.

“Ah…Ah…Ah…!” Unable to compose herself, Mio ran past the person and dashed out of the store, gripping the bear tightly in her hand.

“Mio!!!” Both of her brothers shouted as they ran after her.     

That was certainly unexpected _. Poor girl_ , Mizuki thought. She must have been really embarrassed by that.

He saw the person let out a huge sigh as they stood up and brushed their apron. “Ah… I think I teased her a little too far.” They said in a remorse tone. “I hope she’s not mad at me for that.”

“I think you made her a little more happy.” Mizuki unconsciously spoke up.

“Ah!” The person jumped again and clutched their chest. “F-Forgive me, I forgot you were still here.”

Mizuki laughed a little in response. “No worries. Sorry for scaring you again.”

The person chuckled back nervously, pulling some strands of their hair behind their ear. “So, are you still looking around?”

“Y-Yeah! Uh… sorry!” Mizuki had forgotten for a second what he was doing. He was too distracted by the three kids that stormed in.

“It’s no problem. Feel free to ask any questions that you have. Or if you need any assistance, I’m happy to help.” The person gave a friendly smile.

“Yeah…” Just as the person was about to walk pass Mizuki, he remembered why he came into this shop in the first place. “Wait a second! Uh…”

The person looked back at him, waiting for a response. “Yes?”

“Y…Your name is Sei, right?” The person nodded. “Ah, okay! I’m Mizuki, by the way. I hope you don’t mind me calling you Sei.”

The person shook their head. “Not at all. It’s nice to meet you, Mizuki-san!”

“Yeah, nice to meet you too!” Mizuki couldn’t help but feel a little happy and nervous at the same time. “So… you… um…” His mind was drawing a blank. All those questions he had before mysteriously vanished once he saw the person he was curious about. He needed to think of something quick. His mind kept replaying back to that moment with those kids and that unexpected event. “You know those kids well, huh?”

It wasn’t the best question to ask, considering it wasn’t the ones that Mizuki had in mind but Sei didn’t seem bothered by it. “Ah, yes, I do. Those kids like to come in often and play around in the store.”

“You don’t mind?” From what Mizuki knew, those kids were quite a handful to deal with according to one of his good friends.

However, Sei shook his head. “Not really. It’s fun to play with them! I admit though that they do have a lot energy I can’t keep up with, but they surprisingly don’t cause a lot of trouble to the shop. Whenever they come around, this place gets so lively and I enjoy it.”

Hearing their happy response made Mizuki grinned. “That’s nice. They must really like you.”

“Huh? Why do you say that?” Sei stared back at him with a confused expression.

“Well…” Mizuki scratched the back of his head. “A buddy of mine has trouble dealing with them. They’re always causing trouble for him when he’s working and mess around in the shop he works at.”

“Oh, that’s terrible. I feel sorry for him.” Sei’s expression turned sympathetic. “But I don’t think they’re bad kids though. I feel like they’re just lonely and want someone to play with them. I rarely see them play around with kids their age, so maybe they just want to play with your friend.”

“I never thought about it that way before.” Mizuki couldn’t help but noticed the disheartened expression on Sei’s face when he was defending those three kids. He didn’t make that much eye contact with Mizuki either and it seemed like he was thinking about something else when he was talking as well. “You okay, Sei?”

Sei finally looked at Mizuki, feeling embarrassed. “Ah, sorry! I went off on a little tangent there!”

“No, it’s cool. You just seem like you were…”  Mizuki tried to find the right word. “…Upset about something? Like you were thinking about things other than those kids…”

“Oh… I-I’m sorry. Forgive me…” Sei gave a strained smile. “Anyways… I should be getting back to work. I need to finish something before tomorrow. It was nice talking to you, Mizuki-san!”

“Oh, yeah… it was nice talking to you too, Sei.”

Sei bowed his head a little and walked back to the door Mizuki noticed earlier. With that, Mizuki proceeded to show himself out of the shop. There was no point in staying, because he didn’t want to bother Sei while he was working.

But he couldn’t get that sad expression out of his mind. He had more questions than answers now, because of it. From then on, Mizuki knew that he wanted to know more about Sei. Not just him being a toymaker and having a toy shop, but about himself in general.

* * *

 “You seem to be in a good mood, Mizuki.”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Aoba?” Mizuki laughed at one of his good friends.

He didn’t think he was acting different at all. After his encounter with Sei, Mizuki decided that he should get back to work as well. So, here he was at Black Needle in the bar section when Aoba and Koujaku decided to come in and hang out as usual. They were having some good conversations and making jokes on the side while Mizuki serve them some drinks on the house.

“I don’t know. You just seem a little happier, I guess.” Aoba shrugged.

“How do I seem happier?” Mizuki set the cup that he was cleaning down and stared down at his friend playfully with a lopsided grin.

“Um… I don’t know… you seem…cheerier?”

Both Mizuki and Koujaku looked at him for a solid second before bursting out laughing at him. “That’s so vague, Aoba!”

Aoba pouted angrily. “Sorry, I just don’t know how to explain it, alright?!”

After his laughter has dial down, Koujaku gave Aoba an apologetic smile before turning to Mizuki. “Sorry, Aoba. But I have to agree, Mizuki. You do seem to be in a good mood. Did something happen?”

Wiping the tear from his eye, Mizuki hesitate to answer. He wasn’t sure if he could tell them about Sei, knowing well enough that they probably tease him about it. He shook his head. “Nothing really happened.”

“Did you meet someone?” Koujaku suggested with a raised brow and a cocky grin. “Are they cute?”

“No, I… I didn’t, Koujaku.” The question threw him off a little.

“Geez, what kind of question was that? Not everyone’s like you, Hippo.” Aoba remarked.

“I’m sorry, Aoba. But you sounded hesitant there for a second, Mizuki. Are you lying to us? Did you _really_ meet someone?” Koujaku smirked.

“No, I didn’t. Shut up.” Mizuki playfully tossed the rag he was cleaning with at Koujaku, who chuckled and grabbed it before it hit his face. 

Just then, another customer walked in asking about a tattoo. Mizuki nodded and excuse himself from Aoba and Koujaku. What luck that he was able to escape that conversation for now. 

 Meanwhile, Aoba and Koujaku were left to move on to another thing. “How’s your brother, Aoba?”

“Sei? He’s doing fine. A little busy nowadays.” Aoba paused as he stared down into his glass. “He’s been working on a lot things lately and I’m just kind of worried about him.” He said with concern.

“Ahh, I hope he hasn’t been overworking himself.” Koujaku took a sip out of his own drink.  

“Me too…” Aoba’s eyes turned bleak. “I just hope he’s not going to take on another project. He’s worked on too many this week.”

“Well, just have some hope in your brother. I’m sure he’s managing himself fine.” Koujaku tried to cheer Aoba up with a strong pat on his shoulder.    

“Yeah…”

“Let’s believe in Sei, Aoba. His condition seems to be doing just fine.” Sensing Aoba’s sour mood, Ren tried to assure him as he popped his little head out of Aoba’s bag. 

“Okay, Ren.” With a smile, Aoba patted Ren’s soft head.

Just as the conversation ended, Mizuki came back as he stocked more bottles onto the shelves. “Hey, guys. So, what were we talking about?”

“Your mystery person who you’re not telling us about?” Koujaku joked.

“I said there’s _no one_ , Koujaku!” Mizuki laughed, successfully stirring the chat to a different topic. Both conversations were forgotten that night, unaware how closely related they were.  

 

* * *

 

 

Mizuki came back the next day. He just couldn’t shake the urge and had to see Sei again. He was able to avoid mentioning Sei to Aoba and Koujaku the other night. At the same time, he couldn’t help but reflect on their words. Did he seem happier because he met Sei? Does that mean he was… towards Sei…?

Mizuki shook his head and walked back into the toy shop. He was so distracted with his thoughts that he didn’t see from the window that Sei was busy talking to another customer until he heard their voices up close as he was coming towards to the countertop.

“I said it’s fine, Noiz-san!”

“Huh… you’re weird like your brother.”

Mizuki paused. He saw Sei was talking to a man in green, who looking at Sei very sternly. Sei seemed to be a little distressed as well, holding his hands up in defense.

Mizuki could easily recognize the man Sei was talking to. Noiz, leader of Rhyme team, Ruff Rabbits. Usually Mizuki would never associate with anyone playing Rhyme, but surprisingly he came into contact with Noiz a few times through the mutual friends they had. Noiz was aloof and seemed uninterested about anything. As a favor to Aoba, Mizuki did his best to get along with Noiz and be friendly towards him. He tried to not let his distaste towards Rhyme showed and clouded his judgment towards Noiz. Still, he felt they were not close with each other yet. It was still interesting to see the hostile interaction between Noiz and his good pal, Koujaku. It made his attitude towards Noiz lightened up.   

“Is that so?” Sei chuckled. His expression was softening from the comment that Mizuki failed to catch what it was again. “Anyways, I already said I would do this for free. Even if I was asking you to pay, I wouldn’t ask for _this_ much.”

Mizuki followed Sei’s quick glance to the huge stack of cash on the counter in front of him. He gaped at how much money that could possibly be.

“Still, isn’t it weird? You made me this and not ask for anything in return.” Noiz sneered. “If you keep doing this, you’re not going to make any profit. This store isn’t going to last long with you doing this.”

Sei pursed in lips. He still replied in a gentle tone. “I don’t make toys for money. I make them to bring happiness to people.”

Noiz narrowed his eyes, clearly dissatisfied with that answer. “You’re weird.”

Unfazed by the comment, Sei giggled instead. “I’m just so happy that you like it anyways. That’s enough for me.” Noiz hummed in response as he lifted the item Sei made for him. “You really like rabbits, huh?”   

Mizuki could see that in Noiz’s hand was an adorable white rabbit keychain wearing a black and green headgear.

“So?” Noiz’s one word reply made Sei giggled more. Annoyed with that reaction, Noiz pushed the wad of cash more towards Sei. “Just take the money. It isn’t a problem for me, I’ve plenty already.”

The giggling stopped and was replaced with a tense expression. “But I already said…” Seeing Noiz’s unchanging stance made Sei let out a heavy sigh. Giving in, Sei took a few bills from the stack and ringed them into the cash register. “I’m only taking this much and that’s it. You can keep the rest. Think of it as your change.”

Noiz glared in disapproval as he reluctantly took back the wad of cash. “Whatever.”

With a turn of his heel, Noiz swiftly passed Mizuki. He wasn’t sure if Noiz had noticed him or not; or if he was just ignoring his presence on purpose. As Noiz walked out of the store, Sei waved goodbye and yell with a cheerful tone, “Come back again!”

That interaction was certainly more interesting than yesterday. Seeing as he and Sei were finally alone, Mizuki spoke up. “Hey, Sei.”

Sei looked up in surprised. His shoulders flinched a little with a hand reflexively moving towards his heart. Mizuki was grateful that he didn’t scare Sei as bad as yesterday. “Ah, hello again, Mizuki-san! I didn’t notice you again. I’m so sorry!”

Mizuki brushed it off, “I keep telling you, it’s fine. What was all that about?”

“Ah…” Sei glanced back at the door with a tired expression. “That was an acquaintance of mine. His name is Noiz-san. He requested this cute little rabbit keychain and I told him before I would do it for free, but apparently he didn’t like that and...”

“I can kind of guess what happened next.” Mizuki laughed, making Sei smile a little. Mizuki didn’t bother mentioning that he knew Noiz as well, seeing as how he wasn’t sure if they were close enough to call each other acquaintances. “But I was also kind of wondering about that…” His gaze shifted around the store. “I don’t see any signs telling the price or any price tag on your toys. How much are you selling these for anyways?”

“I don’t charge much. It really depends on the customer.” Sei casually shrugged his shoulders. “I normally don’t charge people I know really well. Despite what Noiz-san thinks, I do consider him like a close friend and it’s weird for me to charge my friends…right?”

“Hmm?” The sudden question surprised Mizuki. “Uh, yeah. Well, depends on the person. You really like making toys that much despite making little money?”

Sei nodded happily. “I love it! It’s fun!”

The cute response made Mizuki smiled. “Wow, you’re one of the few guys I’ve ever met that would do this for fun.”

Sei’s happiness faltered as his face dropped. “Is it…weird?”

“A-Ah! No, not at all!” Mizuki frantically tried to recover. “I didn’t mean it like that! ‘Cause like… most guys I know normally join Rib…or play Rhyme… for fun.”

“Oh, I see!” Sei’s smiling self thankfully came back. “What do you do for fun, Mizuki-san?”

“Me? Oh, I’m into Rib.” Mizuki proudly stated as he pumped out his chest. “I’m actually the leader of biggest Rib team, Dry Juice.”

“Oh!” Sei clapped excitedly. “I’ve heard of your team! That’s really amazing, Mizuki-san! I’ve never thought I would meet a leader of a Rib team, especially the biggest one on this island. That is so cool!” 

Mizuki blushed a little and grinned widely. “Yeah, it is. So… uh… are you into Rib, Sei? Or…do you play Rhyme?” He cautiously asked. Mizuki didn’t know what he would do if Sei was into Rhyme. He didn’t know what to feel if that was the case.

“Oh, neither really. I’m not into that kind of stuff. Mostly…I don’t think I can…with the way I am.” Sei trailed off again with the same sad expression Mizuki caught yesterday.

What did Sei mean by that? The way he was? Mizuki leaned over the countertop in front of Sei, inspecting closely at his face. “Why? You seem fine to me.” That didn’t seem to help since there were no changes in Sei’s expression. Mizuki was starting to get worried. He felt a little pain from seeing Sei so sad. “Hey, don’t be like that. Cheer up! If you want, you should join my Rib team! I’d happy to have you!”

“Eh?” Hearing that made Sei stare back at him in surprise. “Are you sure I can just join like that? I mean… we don’t really know each other that much. And I don’t have the skills to be on a Rib team. I can’t really fight that well…”  

“No, it’s okay!” Mizuki protested. He didn’t want to make Sei feel worse. “I’d love to have you anyways. Being on a team is more than just fighting. You get to be a part of a big family, you know? And the guys on my team are really cool and nice. You’ll fit right in!” He beamed as he took a hold of Sei’s hand in a friendly manner.

Sei glanced down at their hands and then back at Mizuki’s cheery eyes. He can see so much sincerity and kindness behind them. He can tell that Rib or his Dry Juice team seem important to Mizuki with the way he was talking about it. Sei found that dedication very admirable. He felt they were both similar with the things they were passion about – Mizuki with Dry Juice and Sei with toys. He smiled, knowing well that he didn’t want to turn down Mizuki’s offer after he nicely suggested it to Sei. It was rude to reject something that someone was so passionate about without thinking about it, or so he heard that was the case. “I see. I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t know if I want to join now, but I’ll definitely consider it. Thank you for the offer, Mizuki-san.”

“No problem!” Mizuki felt a little happiness brimming in his stomach. Up close, he noticed how mesmerizing Sei’s eyes were. He knew that they were beautiful far away, but the glasses were obstructing them more than he realized. Sei’s eyes were hypnotic as if they were pulling him in; as if he couldn’t stop staring at them; as if he was entering a serene dream-like state where he felt no worries or problems. “Wow…” He whispered under his breath.

Sei too noticed Mizuki’s gaze on him. He didn’t know what was happening; he has never seen anyone stare at him with such an expression before. He couldn’t tell what Mizuki was thinking at all. It was making him feel a little self-conscious that his cheeks were turning pink. Not to mention that they were still holding hands, a contact Sei was not familiar with anyone besides Aoba. “M-Mizuki-san…?”

Noticing the color forming on Sei’s face broke away his concentration and made Mizuki blushed. He noticed their hands as well and pulled back away. “Ah, sorry! Um…!” This is bad, so much for looking cool. There was only one thing to do in order to regain back his composure and dignity. “Well, anyways, I should get going! I…uh…gotta get back to my team!”

Sei nodded, feeling relieved. “Yes, I should be getting back to work now. It was nice meeting you again!”

“Yeah!” Mizuki gracelessly walked back to the front door. “I’ll see you around! Oh and uhh… if you ever change your mind on wanting to join, my hangout is around here. Feel free to come by any time!”

“I will!” Sei waved goodbye as Mizuki awkwardly showed himself out through the door. He felt like an idiot after acting like that, and an even bigger coward for escaping. It was the only thing he could to keep things from being any more awkward or else he might have done something he would have regretted late on. Mizuki must have freaked Sei out with his odd behavior. How was he ever going to face him again?

Meanwhile, Sei couldn’t help but held onto the hand that Mizuki touched. His hand was warm compared to Sei’s cold ones. Mizuki’s palm was smooth but his fingers felt rough. That may have been the results of countless fighting from being in a Rib team. But nevertheless, Sei couldn’t ignore the tingly feelings in his own hand and the fast beating his chest. The heat from his cheeks was not fading any time soon and his breath was quickening. Was his condition getting worse? Or was this something else? _What is happening to me?_

**Author's Note:**

> YOU GUYS SHOULD CHECK OUT THE CUTE ART THAT GOES WITH THIS FIC AS PART OF THE BIG BANG!!! http://drawwhatiwantwhenwant.tumblr.com/post/161295282889/way-back-in-march-i-signed-up-to-do-the-dmmd-big
> 
> PLEASE!!!! HER ART IS AMAZING AND I WANT TO THANK HER FOR PUTTING UP WITH ME!!!! SHE IS SUPER SWEET AND TALENTED!!!!!!


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